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West Lafayette, IN · Chemical engineering

Chemical engineering at Purdue

Purdue graduates about 156 chemical engineering majors a year, 2% of its graduating class. That puts it 10th of 163 schools we score for chemical engineering, a standout program at 87 out of 100. Graduates in the major earn a median $105,000 four years out, 1.07× what the same major pays nationally. Research spending in the field runs about $31 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.

87/100Standout#10 of 163 for chemical engineering →
Graduates a year1562% of the class
Median pay 4 years out$105,0001.07× the same major nationally
Research in the field$31Ma year, NSF
Admit rate50%whole school
SAT middle 50%1220–1470whole school

Around Purdue

A shot of the Purdue University campus as seen from the top floor of Meredith So
Purdue University campus from top floor of Meredith South residence hallPhoto: Shocksingularity · CC0 · source
500px provided description: A small plane on approach to land at Purdue Universi
Flying Into The Sunset (198923043)Photo: Jesse Collins · CC BY 3.0 · source
This is a pymol view that shows the entire structure of the GDP-Mannose 4, 6-Deh
Pymol viewPhoto: Ctrob22 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
A rainbow over 3rd Street in West Lafayette, Indiana near the Honors College Res
Rainbow Over Third StreetPhoto: JMoga11 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Where chemical engineering happens

Buildings on campus that fit the field: Hampton Hall of Civil Engineering (HAMP), Forney Hall of Chemical Engineering (FRNY), Mechanical Engineering (ME), Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE), Biochemistry Building, Martin C. Jischke Hall of Biomedical Engineering, Ray W. Herrick Laboratories, Life Science Plant and Soils Laboratory, Herrick Laboratories, National Soil Erosion Laboratory (SOIL), Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, R. B. Wetherill Laboratory of Chemistry (WTHR).

Named buildings on the campus map: Academic 209 · Dorm 75 · Athletics 12 · Student housing 9 · Dining 4 · Arts 4.

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Nearby in the chemical engineering ranking

  1. University of Michigan–Ann Arbor 91
  2. North Carolina State University 90
  3. University of California, Berkeley 89
  4. Cornell University 88
  5. Texas A&M University 87
  6. Northwestern University 86
  7. University of Wisconsin–Madison 85
  8. The Pennsylvania State University–University Park 85

Other strong majors at Purdue

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares Purdue with every school we score in chemical engineering. It weighs what graduates earn four years out against the same major nationally (25%), research spending in the field (20%, NSF), how many undergraduate courses the department lists (20%), the student body's test scores (20%) and the size of the program (15%, capped so size alone can't win). 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.

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